State briefs for April 16

Honolulu Airport has highest number of runway incidents

HONOLULU (AP) — Officials are working to reduce the number of incidents that occur on the runways of Honolulu Airport, which has had the nation’s highest number of runway mishaps for the past three years.

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration reported 36 incidents at the airport, ranging from minor runway violations to a near-collision between a helicopter and a twin-engine plane. There were 42 incidents in 2014 and 13 the previous year.

Dozens of pilots attended a forum at the airport Wednesday, where officials discussed ways to improve airport regulations and prevent runway mishaps.

Hawaii aviation expert Peter Forman attributed the high numbers to recently installed sensors at the airport that detect whether a plane is where it is supposed to be.

Some say the Honolulu Airport has had more runway issues because it is one of the few airports where large commercial carriers share the tarmac with smaller tour companies, helicopters and solo pilots.

Military recovers 9 of 12 Marines killed in Hawaii crash

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Marine Corps says it has recovered the remains of nine of the 12 Marines killed when two helicopters crashed during nighttime training off Hawaii.

Remains of three Marines were not recovered, the Marine Corps said Thursday in a statement. Sgts. Dillon Semolina and Adam Schoeller and Cpl. Christopher Orlando are still missing.

The Marines say they have completed recovery operations.

The helicopters were part of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 based at Kaneohe Bay. The Coast Guard initially reported that the choppers had collided, but the Marines said later it wasn’t known whether there was a collision. The cause remains under investigation.

It happened off Oahu’s North Shore in January. The Marine Corps says teams mapped the debris site and recovered significant wreckage from both helicopters.